Create an online store in Saudi Arabia: platform or custom build?

To create an online store in Saudi Arabia, register as a merchant or a freelancer, open a business bank account, build the store on a ready-made platform such as Salla, Zid or Shopify, authenticate it on the Business Platform (business.sa) and publish the details the E-Commerce Law requires. Build custom only when no platform fits.

Customers already buy locally. In the Communications, Space and Technology Commission's Saudi Internet 2025 report, 95.3% of online shoppers had bought from local websites [1]. Sellers are multiplying too: the Ministry of Commerce counted 52,259 existing commercial registrations for e-commerce at the end of the third quarter of 2026, up 25% on a year earlier [2]. The steps below follow the order in which the requirements apply. Platform prices were read on each vendor's page on 14 October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice; for a specific case, check the official source or ask a licensed advisor.

Step 1: register as a merchant or a freelancer

The E-Commerce Law covers two kinds of seller. A "merchant" is a person registered in the commercial register who carries out e-commerce; a "practitioner" does so without a commercial registration [3]. Both are service providers under the law, and both owe customers the same duties.

The freelance document is valid for one year from issue, and no fee is currently charged for it [4]. A merchant must also record the online store in the commercial register [3].

One practical point: Zid states that a commercial register is not needed to open a store on its platform, but is needed to connect payment gateways such as mada, Visa, Mastercard and Apple Pay [6]. Check what your chosen platform and payment provider accept before you choose the route.

Step 2: choose how to build the store

Which is the best website to create an online store?

No single platform is best for every seller. Compare the candidates on five points: the total yearly cost at your expected order volume; the payment methods and their fees; shipping integrations for the cities you serve; Arabic storefront and VAT invoices; and how easily you can export your data if you move. A free trial on two platforms with ten real products answers most of these in a week.

Online store costs in Saudi Arabia, as of October 2026

The table shows each platform's plans as its own page displayed them on 14 October 2026.

On these figures, the software for a year on an entry paid plan costs SAR 990 on Salla Plus or Zid Launch billed annually, or $228 on Shopify Basic billed yearly (12 × $19). The software is rarely the largest cost. Budget also for:

• Payment processing: a fee per card transaction, shown in each provider's payment settings.
• Shipping: a cost per parcel; Zid says its shipping service connects a store with more than 30 carriers through one electronic contract, and Salla offers discounted shipping waybills [6][8].
• Domain, themes and apps: some plans include a domain, and paid add-ons accumulate.
• Packaging, product photos and returns.
• VAT: charged at 15% on taxable supplies [9]; check whether a platform's displayed price includes it.

Can you create an online store for free?

You can start one for free: Salla Basic and Zid Starter cost nothing [6][8]. Two limits appear quickly. Card payments are not part of these free plans as described on the pricing pages, so customers would pay by bank transfer or cash on delivery. And authentication on the Business Platform requires a commercial register or freelance document plus a business bank account, whatever plan you use [5]. Free software, in other words, does not mean a free legal set-up.

Step 3: set up payments, shipping and VAT

Payments. Zid's payment service supports mada, Visa and Mastercard, Apple Pay, and buy-now-pay-later through Tabby and Tamara [6]. Whichever platform you use, the money should land in a business account: the Ministry of Commerce made a business bank account a condition of store authentication to strengthen trust and reduce fraud [5].

Delivery promise. Unless you agree another period with the customer, the customer may cancel and recover what they paid if delivery is late by more than 15 days from the contract date or the agreed date, except in force majeure, and you must tell them about expected delays [3]. State realistic delivery times for each city at checkout.

VAT. The standard rate is 15% [9]. ZATCA's VAT Implementing Regulations require a business that is not registered to check, at the end of each month, the value of its supplies over the previous 12 months; once that value exceeds the mandatory registration threshold set in the GCC VAT Agreement, it must apply to register within 30 days [10]. Check the current threshold with ZATCA, and choose a plan that can show VAT on invoices once you register.

Invoices. After each sale, the law requires an invoice showing the cost of each product, the total price including fees, taxes and delivery charges, and the delivery date and place [3].

Step 4: authenticate the store and publish the required details

Since 29 March 2023, the Ministry of Commerce has directed online store owners to authenticate their stores on the Business Platform (business.sa), in place of the Maroof platform. The ministry calls it the only place to verify and register e-stores in the Kingdom [5].

The E-Commerce Law's Implementing Regulations list what an authentication body needs, including the provider's name, address and contact details, whether it is a merchant or a practitioner, its identity or commercial register details, the platform it sells through and any licences [11]. Once authenticated, the store must display its authentication statement clearly and report changes to its details within 30 days [11].

On the store itself, the law requires:

• the seller's name or distinguishing mark and address, unless registered with an authentication body;
• contact details;
• the name and number of the commercial register or other public register, where there is one [3];
• under the Implementing Regulations, a privacy policy, the procedure for receiving and handling complaints, and the tax number where there is one [11];
• for regulated professions, the licensing body and licence details [3].

Step 5: write the policies your customers rely on

Breaches can lead to a warning, a fine of up to SAR 1,000,000, a temporary or permanent suspension of e-commerce activity, or blocking of the store [3].

When a custom-built store makes sense

Ready-made platforms cover most stores. A custom build, or custom parts around a platform, starts to make sense when:

• Many sellers share one marketplace. Commissions, payouts and seller onboarding go beyond a single-shop checkout; the law also lets the ministry regulate platforms that mediate between sellers and consumers [3].
• You sell to businesses. Customer-specific price lists, credit terms and quotes before orders.
• Stock lives in another system. Real-time links to an ERP, a warehouse system or branch points of sale.
• The product is a subscription or a booking. Recurring billing, capacity and appointment slots.

A common middle route is to keep the platform storefront and build only the integration it lacks. Our guide to custom software development in Saudi Arabia explains the cost drivers, and 10 questions to ask before you sign helps you compare providers. O AI is one Saudi company that builds custom software and integrations of this kind.

Your next step

This week, decide between a commercial register and a freelance document, and open the business bank account that authentication requires. Then build your catalogue on the free plan of two platforms with ten real products and compare the checkout, payment options and shipping for your cities. Draft the return, delivery and privacy policies before you authenticate. Taken in that order, the steps to create an online store in Saudi Arabia are manageable in a few weeks.